If you play video games long enough, especially MOBA games like League of Legends or DOTA 2, you will hear the term map awareness thrown around—Usually in the form of “you freaking noob you have no map awareness.” In these video games, map awareness refers to knowing where the other players in the map are, where you are in relation to them, knowing which ways you may be attacked from and knowing what your best escape routes are. Much like noobs, many grapplers have terrible “map awareness” or a sense of “mat awareness” if you will. Mat awareness is knowing the following: What position you are currently in. This means going beyond the basic positional definitions like guard or half...

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Our fearless Panda Nation leaders Hillary and Nelson finally completed their relocation to Allentown, PA, placing them just minutes from Zombie BJJ, the school where I teach and train. That means I now get to see them all the time (or at least when they aren't jet setting to another BJJ Globetrotters camp). This gave me the idea for a new series on the Inverted Gear blog. Every week, the /R/BJJ subreddit runs a White Belt Wednesday thread where you can ask any question, no matter how basic or embarrassing, without fear of judgment or criticism. These are always popular and people are very supportive with their replies. The three of us pandas are going to to film answers to WBW questions. Below I've embedded the Q&A from our first...

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“Jiu-jitsu is what works.” These words, spoken to me by my first instructor Adem Redzovic, echo in my ears even today. It was an inclusive statement that to me captures the essence of jiu-jitsu. There is no static list of techniques but an ever-growing art that is constantly pressure tested in the crucibles of sparring and competition. Applying techniques against live resistance is one of the key traits that separates the effective martial arts from those that aren’t.So it is always surprising to me that it is the norm in jiu-jitsu schools to dead drill takedowns but then to rarely, if ever, start sparring sessions on the feet. It flies in the face of the central idea that you can’t...

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Last month I had the great pleasure of traveling to Las Vegas to coach at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World Master Tournament on behalf of Princeton BJJ. It was the first time I had attended this tournament, and I had a ball. My friends and teammates did very well in competition, and Vegas is always a great place for people watching. It’s also a reminder of what a low roller I am. For instance, I cashed out of a Kitty Glitter machine once I had made back the fiver I put into it (though I did come away with 45 extra cents). I always run into friends, instructors, and training partners at tournaments, but this one felt like...

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The poor retention rate of jiu-jitsu is notorious at this point. We talk about it so much that we sometimes seem proud of the fact that the majority of white belts won’t make it to blue, and that the majority of those people won’t make it to purple, and so on and so on until we have a handful of weirdos left sticking it out through black belt.Though we might puff our chests at how difficult our sport can be, in the dark lonely hours of a poorly attended open mat, while we wait against the wall for a roll, our minds might drift back through all of the faces of the people that came and went. We remember the...

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Want to try BJJ but don’t know where to start? New at a BJJ school and struggling to survive the first 6 months? I’m going to lay out a quick and dirty, no frills survival guide for you. Let’s start by assuming you’re not training yet. You probably like watching MMA and have the idea that training BJJ could be cool. Google BJJ gyms in your area and ask on BJJ forums online for good schools to try out. Fill out whatever “take a free trial class” form the school has on their website or call them to schedule a time to go in. Stop making excuses like "I want to get in shape first." Nothing gets you ready for...

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My friend Reilly Bodycomb won the Sambo US Nationals a few weeks ago. One of the perks for winning was securing a spot on the US team at the Panamerican and World tournaments. The Panamerican was held in Paraguay this year. Since Reilly doesn't speak much Spanish besides asking for a cold Coca-cola, he asked me to come along to be his translator and guide. I've always been intrigued by the idea of going to a large sambo tournament, and I had never visited Paraguay, so after some planning, I booked two flights out of JFK and we were off in an adventure.After nearly missing our flight (since we were too busy playing Magic: The Gathering to hear that our...

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Training was going great. You finally crushed the plateau in your progress and the three or four techniques that you had been working on were finally coming together. You felt sharp and strong. You were anticipating counters and slipping out of attacks with a whole new level of style and efficiency. And then you got hurt. Jiu-jitsu injuries come in all shapes and varieties, from bumps and bruises to broken bones and torn ligaments. As far as big injuries go, knee, shoulder, and back injuries seem to be the most common. If you suffer a setback to one of those areas, you’re probably in for a good bit of time on the bench, ranging from two months to a year....

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We all want to spend more time on the mats, but inconvenient distractions like our jobs and families and so-called social lives get in the way. These 10 tips will give you ways to improve your BJJ even when you can’t get on the tatami. 1. Practice visualization. Your mind is your most powerful asset. Harness the power of visualization to “practice” even when you can’t get to practice. You can do this in your free moments, like when you’re standing in the shower, laying in bed before you go to sleep, or when you’re doing that thing people call a job where you sit in front of a computer and look at Reddit 8 hours a day. Try these...

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I have been riding a bike everywhere in Copenhagen. I grew up riding a bike, rode around some in college, but I have probably ridden a bike twice in the last 6 years. When I jumped on my bike at the rental store, it was a bit rough at the beginning—figuring out my balance, where to put my weight, finding the exact right spot to sit on that weird seat. After a few minutes, though, I was cruising. Copenhagen bike infrastructure is amazing. They have wide bike lanes and even dedicated street lights and turning lanes solely to bikers. Being back on the pedals got me thinking about bike riding and that classic analogy: X is like riding a bike.Haven’t...

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